Fool Me Twice
by storybookknight
Summary: When Izanami killed his friends, Souji Seta was ready to destroy her entirely. Instead, she offered him a deal - defeat the essence of mankind's hatred, and she would bring them back to life. Too bad he would have to travel back in time to do it. Starting over from scratch as Yu Narukami, Seta must pierce the mysteries surrounding SEES and Tatsumi Port Island before time runs out.
1. Chapter 1

"Mortal, do you want to live?"

Izanami sagged down to the ground, her divine presence seeping into the world around her, manifesting as a forest of grasping arms. In my chest I could feel the swell of Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the words and encouragement of my friends and family still ringing in my ears. For some reason, the question struck me as kind of a no-brainer.

"You have proven that mankind desires more than annihilation. More than entertaining falsehood. You, and your friends, have embraced the truth as fully as your feeble minds could bear."

... Thanks for the encouragement, crazy lady. It'll comfort me late at night when I think about how all my friends are dead, because you killed them.

"Do you wish for your friends to live?"

... Why do you keep asking stupid questions?

"Strike me down now, and I shall retreat from this world, taking the souls of your friends with me, but allowing the rest of the world to survive."

No, you won't. I'll drag you by the hair out of the underworld until you let them go. I promise.

"You have proven that even a few, if they desire the truth strongly enough, are equal to the desire of the unenlightened masses for destruction and deception. I believe that I can give you a way to save your friends."

I'm listening.

"The desire for humanity's destruction reached it's peak two years ago and six hundred thirty seven kilometers from here, in a location named Tatsumi Port Island. In that time, though the desires of the masses of humanity cried out for the death of all life, a select few managed to come together and save the world. They were not so different from you and those you call friends."

... So they're all dead now? You have about a minute to get to the point before I kill you.

"However, they were deceived by one they trusted, and forced to make great sacrifices to seal away the negative aspects of humanity." All of a sudden, the world around us halted. The fog, which she had been emitting throughout the course of our previous fight, froze in midair. Each individual particle of water orienting itself to stare directly at me, as though it were a microscopic eyeball. "Souji Seta. I harbor no ill will towards humanity. I am a goddess that desires to grant the wishes of humanity, and since that time two years ago, humanity's desire for destruction has been curtailed, but not defeated. There is one who wishes to correct the events of that year, and because of it I have the ability to send you back in time, to give you the ability to assist those who would protect humanity from its own self-destructive impulses."

I cleared my throat. I preferred to let my facial expressions speak for me, but this was too important to leave to chance or misinterpretation. "I do this, and my friends come back?"

"I would be sending you back to a time when they are alive," she said, her voice sounding like the smell of rotten meat buried under honey, "Though they will no longer know you, as their younger selves will not yet have met you. In the fullness of time, you would meet them again."

And have to befriend them again. And keep my cool around them, try not to come on too friendly, try not to reference events that hadn't happened yet. Fun.

As if sensing my reluctance, Izanami spoke again. "I would be willing to restore their memories of you once you met them again. It would give you, in essence, another year of time with them. And give you the opportunity to prevent the actions of the other Fools. Should you survive to make it that far, of course."

A chance to undo Adachi's murders, and to stop the people of Inaba from going crazy? That actually... didn't sound so bad. Which meant that it was probably a trap.

"What happens if I don't? What happens if I take the power they've granted me to blow you away?" I asked, feeling the tempest of Personae inside of me rise to a fever's pitch. Izunagi-no-Okami in particular I could feel reaching out to the bodies of my friends, wanting to exercise his gift of life, and I could feel - just beyond my grasp - the ability to undo what Izanami had done.

"Then you will defeat me. My fog shall be scattered, humanity's wish to merge truth and lies unfulfilled. And then in a few years, the death-urge of humanity shall rise again, and a new saga shall emerge, a new Fool, a new journey, a new cycle fraught with peril and with the chance of failure at every turn. If instead you take me up on my offer, sacrifice your family, your friendships in order to discover the truth of Tatsumi Port Island, I feel that the worst that can happen is that you fail to change the course of events in any particular. The world will continue in an anticipated way, and in two years your younger self will defeat me again, with the help of the same friends that you have already made. Should you be willing to take the risk of failure, I will grant you the possibility of accomplishing so much more - a way, perhaps, to seal the death-wish of humanity away from the world."

"So all of this... even Nanako... this was all just a test? A way to find a champion, to represent you in the past?"

Izanami laughed. It was like fingernails on a chalkboard heard murkily, as though from the bottom of a festering swamp. "If so, it was a test that you passed. Souji Seta. Will you go back in time? Will you pit yourself against the ill will of humanity? Will you find a reason for the imperfect creations of mankind to rebel against their artificial natures, and to find new ones? Will you, greatest of my Fools, risk everything to assist another Fool like yourself?"

For a second, I thought... but my decision didn't take long. "Yeah. I'll do it."

* * *

><p>My eyes snapped open. I had been awakened by the familiar sound of the announcement system on the train. <em>"<em>_Services today will be delayed due to an unfortunate accident. Thank you for your patience."_ Which was interesting, because a second ago, I had been talking to an ancient goddess of the underworld. Instead of being clenched around a sweat-slick sword, my hands were now loosely grasping a manila folder full of documents and papers. Instead of wearing armor, poorly hidden under the school uniform of Inaba High, I was wearing a somewhat fashionable white shirt, a charcoal grey jacket, a lighter grey chinos and glossy black shoes. I checked the pockets - I had a wallet, and I had a phone, which I immediately proceeded to pull out. As Izanami had hinted, the time on its internal clock read 11:42; April 9, 2009. It was an older model than I was used to, but since I had just traveled back in time almost three years, that probably just meant that it was brand new.

The wallet had quite a few yen in it, but while the id card in the front had my face, it didn't have my name. Apparently I was now somebody named Yu Narukami. I suppose it made sense. Souji Seta was still alive in this world, had just turned fifteen, and was going to school in Tokyo. It made no sense for him to be in - I looked out the windows of the train, still stopped and replaying the same announcement every few minutes, and checked the station signs. Looks like I was in Iwatodai. That made sense; Izanami had said that the world ending event happened at Tatsumi Port Island. Well, I guess it wasn't the worst place to be. Our class had gone here for our class trip after all, so I knew my way around at least a little... wait, wasn't that a bit too much of a coincidence? Had Izanami manipulated our class trip so that I would be familiar with this place?

I picked up the manila folder, and the papers inside confirmed my suspicions. It was transfer paperwork for Yu Narukami, son of Nagi and Nami Narukami (both deceased), soon to be attending Gekkoukan High School. Cute, Izanami. Real cute. It also had a map to the Iwatadai dorm, with railway stations clearly marked. Looked like I wasn't far, though the actual Tatsumi Port Island station would be closer. It didn't look like the train would be moving any time soon, so at this rate walking would be faster... and it would mean I wouldn't have to listen to the automated message thanking me for my patience over and over.

As I stood up, I folded the manila folder so I could put it into the inside pocket of my jacket, but I stopped when I noticed that the pocket already had something in it. I pulled it out. The key to the Velvet Room, and the glasses that Teddie made for me. For a second, I just stood there looking at the glasses, but instead just seeing him throw his cartoonish body into Izanami's grasping hands, in order to buy me a few more seconds to keep attacking. Sorry, Teddie. I'll make sure that things work out better for you, this time. You deserved better. Thinking this, I went ahead and put the glasses on. The world around me didn't change, or suddenly become easier to see, but it made me feel better as I set out alone into the moonlit streets of Iwatodai.

I was halfway to the dormitory when time stopped. Everything around me was cast in a sickly green light, puddles of blood began seeping out of the drains and sewers, and the few people I had seen walking about the city had been replaced by coffins. It felt sort of like the world inside of the TV, but somehow unfamiliar; possessing a grasping, cloying spiritual pressure that made me feel like I was breathing soup. I felt like a high-altitude runner who had suddenly been thrown into the ocean and asked to swim for his life - fitter than the average person to be there, perhaps, but trained with a physical build and a set of skills that was almost completely useless for the situation at hand. In my peripheral vision I saw movement, and I had the sinking suspicion that whatever had happened to the world, it was probably similar enough to the TV realm to harbor Shadows.

... Good thing I'm completely unarmed. Thanks, Izanami. I held my hand out and focused, trying to call my Personas... really, Izanami? You couldn't even leave me those? Or maybe it was that I still had them, but they didn't work in this shadow realm, or they didn't work outside of Inaba; I could still feel their presence in the back of my mind. Either way, I was defenseless, and probably about to be eaten by Shadows, so I started jogging towards the Iwatodai dorm. I didn't know if there would be any particular safety there, but staying on the move to avoid Shadows was probably safest. It wasn't long before I saw one - a disembodied hand, scuttling across the street like a spider. It seemed to be heading northeast, towards the dorm; I gave it a wide berth, and waited until it had passed out of sight completely before following. A few minutes later, another one crawled out of an alley in front of me, heading the same direction as the previous one. Curious, I looked in that direction. After a few seconds, there was a flash of lightning.

That was a Zio spell! I'd recognize the color of that lightning anywhere - I'd certainly used it myself, enough times. And if Shadows were fighting? That meant a Persona user! Which meant that maybe now I'd be able to get some answers. At the very least, I'd have someone nearby who could protect me from Shadows. I quickly headed in that direction, keeping an eye on the street around me for incoming trouble. As I got closer, I could hear the shouts of battle; it sounded like just one person, his voice raw with anger and fear. Behind me, I heard a clang, and whirled - one of the hand-shaped Shadows was sneaking up behind me! I broke into a sprint, heading for the voice I had heard, and started shouting. "HEY! HELP! SOMEONE, HELP ME!" ... It was a little embarrassing, to be honest, but better to be embarrassed than dead.

We saw each other at about the same time. Him sprinting, a grey-haired teen like me, wearing a red vest and armband over his school uniform with ichor-stained gloves on his fists and a handgun in a holster by his side. Me, stylishly dressed and running for my dear life, pursued by a bodiless hand. For a second I almost ran straight for him, but then I saw what he was running from. It reminded me of Izanami, though far cruder and less oppressive than her terrifying presence. It was a being composed entirely of grasping hands at the ends of long arms that moved spiderlike down the street with a series of heavy thuds as each hand-foot fell. One hand carried a blue mask with the roman numeral "I" blazed upon it, which if everything in this world held true to what I knew from the TV Realm meant that it was of the Magician Arcana, but I had never seen a shadow of that size before that wasn't a reflection of someone's soul. As it approached I made a quick turn to the right to run parallel with the other teen, my breath coming fast in the thick, soupy air. "What the hell is that thing?!" I shouted. "And how do we get away from it?!"

"They're - " he gasped for breath between each word, like he had been running for a while. " - called Shadows! And there's a safe place this way!" His eyes widened, and he looked behind me. Crap, with the size of the beast behind him, I had forgotten about the Maya behind me, and something told me it was gaining. Without breaking stride, the grey-haired guy in the red vest pulled the handgun out his holster, but rather than turn it on the thing chasing me, he put the barrel to the side of his head. What? This is no time to commit suicide!

"POLYDEUCES!" he shouted, and shards of psyche like broken glass erupted from the opposite side of his head, as though he had shot through it to release his Persona. It was a muscular blue golemlike figure, its hands and feet almost comically tiny, save for its oversized right hand. That hand crackled with lightning, and with another shout, this time of "ZIO!", the Persona released a bolt of lightning into the thing chasing me. The evil hand erupted in a shower of shadowy ichor, and I did my best to pick up the pace.

Saving me cost him, however, as the multi-armed beast behind him lunged forward and managed to catch his heel. The red-vested guy fell with a shout of fear, and the handgun went flying, skittering across the street. I lunged for it, managing to wrap my fingers around it just in time to see the giant Shadow pick the man who had saved me up by the ankle with one hand and wrap another two hands around his body. Like hell I was going to let it just squeeze him to death! I put the gun beneath my chin and pulled the trigger.

**THOU ART I. AND I ART THOU.** The familiar words echoed through my soul, but it was an unfamiliar voice. I had expected Izanagi. Instead, I got... "ODYSSEUS!" I see. When I arrived in Inaba, I was the given the power of the embodiment of Hope, and a Persona that symbolized one who ventured into the Underworld to retrieve one who he loved. Now I was a person who had recently completed a war, lost in a realm not his own, who entered the Underworld to seek knowledge, and who would have to undergo many trials to return to his home. These were the thoughts that flew through my head as I summoned the famous hero of Athens, who appeared in a burst of light.

For all that my core Persona was somehow no longer Izanagi, he was still a reflection of my soul, which meant that when he appeared, I was shocked by how similar he looked to my previous Persona. Like Izanagi, he was a slender figure with a sharp, angular look about him; like Izanagi, he wore a dark coat that flared out at the sides, though the silver buttons down both sides and the blood-red tie reminded me more of what Izanagi-no-Okami had worn, a design that was called an admiral's coat. However, instead of razor-edged _geta_, his feet ended in horse's hooves, and instead of flaring out to the sides, the razor-sharp bands of metal attached to his head came down the back of his spine like a horse's mane. The biggest differences were the flowing cape that billowed like a sail behind him, and the halberd that had been modified to look like an anchor, or perhaps an enormous crossbow.

As the Magician began to squeeze the red-vested boy, I willed Odysseus forward, and with a shout of "CLEAVE!" his razor-edged anchor slashed through its wrist, forcing it to drop its prey onto the pavement. I dashed forward behind my Persona, and darted past the grasping hands to drag the other Persona-user to his feet. Odysseus continued to fend off the Magician with sweeping strikes, but he was as weak as I remembered Izanagi having been at the beginning of my sojourns into the television, and once the Magician started using Bufu spells, the referred pain that I felt through the Persona bond forced me to dismiss him. Without Odysseus holding it back, the giant shadow gained fast, but I had bought enough time that my new friend and I were able to limp to a sturdy-looking building, a quasi-military installation cleverly disguised as a dormitory.

* * *

><p>Together we burst through the doors, pivoting and locking them behind us with a sigh of relief. "Akihiko!" Someone shouted. So that was his name. I turned to see a trio of people rush down the stairs towards the two of us. First impressions - the redheaded woman was stunningly beautiful, with a sharp, piercing expression; the frightened-looking brunette next to her was similarly attractive, but in a gentler sort of way. Only the redhead was armed, but both were wearing holsters for gun-shaped devices that matched the one which I was still carrying. Nice job, Izanami! Putting me someplace with two genuine beauties isn't enough to make me forgive what you've done, but it's a start!<p>

"I'm all right." Akihiko said. "It nearly got me - if it hadn't been for this guy here..." The redhead looked like she wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by the last of the three people to have rushed towards us. He was older and kind of unprepossessing, with a goatee; unfortunately for me, out of everyone he was the first one to turn his attention towards me.

"Who are you?" the old guy asked. Well, that was straightforward.

"Sou" - I coughed. I almost gave him my actual name! Wouldn't that have been fun to explain later? "So not the time for introductions right now! I don't know what the hell it is, but it was right behind us!"

As if on cue, the dormitory shook. The redhead took the opportunity to take control of the situation. "Mr. Chairman, get to the control room! Takeba, go upstairs and wake up Arisato. You'll have to escape out the back. Akihiko? Since you led it here, you're going to have to help fight."

Akihiko swung his arms back and forth, testing them. "Like I had a choice! Trying to fight it on my own nearly got me killed! This guy managed to use his Persona and got me away from it before it could do too much damage, though, so I'm ready for some payback."

She looked at me curiously, but now was clearly not the time for questions. "If you just summoned your Persona for the first time, you're probably exhausted. I'm impressed you're even standing now. I promise, we will explain everything later. For now, just follow Takeba and escape out the back." As little as I wanted to admit it, she was right. The way I felt right now, I would be completely useless in a combat situation. Even after a few seconds rest, my heart was still hammering like I had run a marathon, and the method that they used to evoke their Personas had left my skull feeling like it had been used as an enormous drum. I handed Akihiko's gun back to him and looked him in the eye.

"Make sure you survive. I'm going to want those answers." With that, I turned and ran for the stairs, my legs burning with the exertion. I got to the top of the first flight just as the brunette in the pink shirt came out of a nearby room. Being led behind her was a boy with blue hair and a pair of headphones, who somehow managed to look almost bored despite the way the building was shaking. He looked at me with a faintly curious expression, but didn't say a word. "We need to get out of here!" I shouted. "Which way is the back entrance?"

The girl - Takeba, her name had been - looked almost startled that I had spoken to her, as though she had been too busy focusing on the danger outside to register that she was supposed to be leading us to safety. "The roof," she said, her eyes darting nervously around the room. "There's a fire escape." My thigh muscles groaned in protest.

After a second, the blue-haired kid started moving towards the stairs at a quick jog. If anyone asked, I wasn't dragging myself up the stairs with my arms to follow him; I was just holding on tightly to keep from falling as the building shook. "There's a lot of little ones following it," I managed to get out as I made it to the next landing, "Do you have any weapons? Something we could use to defend ourselves?"

Takeba reached down to her side, and to the pistol-looking device holstered there. "The Dark Hour is nearly over. I should be able to hold them off with my Persona until then." Her voice shook as she said it, and I winced. Somehow she didn't fill me with confidence. I really wish I had a sword... then again, I would have had to carry it up all of these stairs.

By the time we finally made it to the rooftop, I was dripping with sweat, a condition that in the green twilight of the Dark Hour made it look like my shirt was dotted with bloodspots. Takeba looked to be hardly in better shape. Though she wasn't as physically drained as I was, her panic made her breath come in short, quick gasps. The only one that looked as cool as a cucumber was Arisato, the blue-haired bastard. Oi! We're running for our lives! Try not to look like you're about to fall asleep!

When the girl in pink said "We should be safe for now," I suppressed a wince. That was the sort of thing that never ended well in the movies. Sure enough, the multiple hands of the Magician started appearing over the lip of the rooftop. I clenched my fists. Takeba turned to look at Minato and I. "Should we run back inside?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No. It'll just give it the height advantage when it comes inside to find us. We should hold here until Akihiko and the girl in charge come to back us up. What can your Persona do?"

She swallowed heavily as the Magician lifted its mask above the edge of the roof and turned it towards us, as though it were staring us down. "Wind... wind and healing."

"Great. When it tries to come up, blow it back off the roof. You don't need to put it down, just keep it away from us until the others make it to us. Think you can?" She unlatched the Evoker and took it out, pushing it to the front of her head with shaky hands. In front of us, the Magician suddenly conjured long knives from nowhere, and began heaving itself up and over the lip of the roof. It hadn't done that when it was fighting Akihiko and me, so why was it taking us seriously now all of a sudden? I didn't know whether to feel confused or insulted, but Takeba definitely needed to strike... "NOW!"

Reflexively, her fingers convulsed around the trigger, and glowing shards of broken glass flew into the air. With a shout of "IO!" from Takeba, a feminine figure formed in the air, chained to a chair that appeared to have taken the shape of a cow's head. Wind flew from the hovering figure in a sharp gust that threw the Magician back, but didn't push it far enough to throw it over the edge. Takeba sagged for a second, and I reached out and snatched the Evoker from her suddenly nerveless fingers.

For a second I was tempted to put the device to my own skull and pull the trigger, but I could see that the Magician was clearly not vulnerable to wind, which was the only elemental spell available to me at the moment. Hopefully Arisato would have better luck. I passed it off to him as the many-armed Magician skittered forward, the swords in its hands sounding like cymbals as the hands that carried them struck the ground. It was a terrifying spectacle, but at that moment the thing that scared me more was the expression on Arisato's face. His eyes were wide, with an expression that almost resembled bloodlust, and he had a faint smile on his face which only grew as the barrel of the Evoker grew closer to his temple. When he finally pulled the trigger I almost expected a monster to come out! When he shouted "ORPHEUS!", and a silver youth with a lyre appeared, I practically sighed in relief.

My relief was short-lived. Though Orpheus had been born from Arisato's head, the black monster appearing now was clawing its way out of the forehead of Orpheus, as though it were a summon's summon. Even as unfamiliar as I was with the strange twist on Personas and Shadows that I was finding here, I could feel the power coming off of it in waves. This thing, whatever it was, was a powerful Persona of the Death Arcana, possibly even more powerful than Mahakala! It was an enormous black figure, roaring like a demon, with a series of coffins spreading from its shoulders like wings. The black beast held a long sword that shimmered in the moonlight, but when it struck at the Magician it did so with the brutal efficiency of a butcher rather than any particular swordsmanship.

Yukari and I both backed away from Arisato as he began to collapse with the pain of channeling the monstrous... whatever it was. The sight of this Persona ripping through the Magician like it was made of wet tissue paper was awe-inspiring, and I was left with little doubt that this blue-haired boy was the person I had come back in time to assist. Izanami, you could have told me that he was going to be terrifying.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't pass out. It was just that, when Arisato's enormous monstrosity of a Persona finally finished slaughtering the Magician and the Dark Hour ended, I very manfully decided that it was about time to lay down and take a nap.

"..." It sounded like someone was speaking.

Go away. I'm tired.

"... hey! Hey, can you hear me?" Yes, though I wish I couldn't.

"Mrghntw". I managed, and I opened my eye a fraction. I immediately regretted it. Someone was standing over me with a flashlight shining directly into my eyes. I did my best to throw an arm over my face, but it was like it was made out of lead. I finally got it into place with something like an uncoordinated flail, only to have it pried away by strong arms.

"Hey, I need you to stay awake and talk to me for a second." After a few seconds, I placed the voice. It was that boxer with the grey hair, whose gun-thingy I had borrowed.

Speaking of which - "I feel like I just shot myself in the head."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I remember my first time evoking my Persona, too. If you're already cracking jokes, though, you're doing better than I was."

He mercifully took the bright light out of my face, and I risked opening my eyes. The moonlight, now untainted by the green of the 'Dark Hour', gave me just enough light to see by without sending stabbing pains through my temples. The guy I had met earlier was crouched low in front of me, one hand on my wrist to take my pulse. "Did I hear earlier that your name was Akihiko?" I asked him. "Thanks for the save. That hand would have gotten me."

"Yeah, Akihiko Sanada. And I should be the one thanking you! That was quick thinking there, using my Evoker like that. I didn't catch your name, though." He was looking at my face intently - trying to see if I had a concussion, probably.

Luckily, by this time I had recovered myself well enough to remember the circumstances of how I had gotten here in the first place. "Yu Narukami. Pleased to meet you, Sanada-san." Seeing as how it was difficult to execute a polite bow when you were lying horizontally on the ground, I extended my hand to him for him to shake.

He caught it and used it to start helping me get to my feet. "Don't even think about it. Anybody who saves my life gets to call me Akihiko."

Well, that was straightforward of him. I kind of appreciated that. "In that case, I'm going to insist on Yu as well." And hopefully him using the name would get me used to responding to it. As I made my way to my feet, I could see the girl in the pink shirt, the redhead, and the older gentleman from earlier all crowding around the prone form of Arisato. The redhead seemed to be prying up his eyelid with one hand and shining a flashlight similar to Akihiko's into it. Akihiko swung my arm over his neck and started helping me limp over to the other people on the rooftop.

"He's completely unresponsive," the redhead said. "His pulse is steady, but this is beyond the usual case of spiritual exhaustion. He needs medical attention."

The girl in the pink sweater gasped. "Oh no! Will Arisato-kun be all right?" As focused on the blue-haired kid as she was, I don't think she noticed me and Akihiko walking over towards the other group at all, and I inwardly sighed a little bit. Really Arisato, you had to use the whole 'save her life' followed by the 'dangerously powerful' and 'helplessly vulnerable' combination on her straight from the get-go? There go my chances. Unless he had meant to do it to me, in which case I'd have to decline, then find a way to introduce him to Kanji. No, wait, Kanji's twelve now. Stay away, blue-haired devil! ... Maybe I was still a little bit punch-drunk from what had just happened, after all.

The old guy in the cheap brown suit interrupted my internal monologue. "Don't worry, Yukari-chan. The Kirijo group is well trained in treating Persona-related medical complications. Minato-kun will be just fine, beyond a Shadow of a doubt!"

Was that a pun? Damn it Izanami, without Teddie nearby I thought I was free from the terrible jokes! At least I had some more names to put to faces; now I just needed to be introduced to the redhead and the old guy. As if he was following my thoughts, Akihiko groaned. "Ikutsuki-san, that was terrible."

The man in brown, Ikusuki, gave us a gentle smile. "And how is our mystery guest doing?" I was pleased to note that Yukari looked over at me as he said this. She managed to give me a trembly smile, which I returned.

"I feel like I've been run over by a truck, but I'll live. Yu Narukami. And you are?" I didn't bother extending a hand, and my position of being supported by Akihiko made it difficult to bow, but I managed a nod of my head.

"I am Shuji Ikutsuki, Chariman of the Iwatodai dorm and the advisor for the student group known as SEES, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad." Really? These guys fought shadows... as part of an official school club? How bizarre. "Our senior members are Mitsuru Kirijo-san and Akihiko Sanada-kun, the latter of whom you've already met; Yukari Takeba-chan here is our newest member."

I nodded to her as she was introduced. "Pleased to meet you, Takeba-san." Turning back to Ikutsuki, I narrowed my eyes. "I noticed that you don't have one of those 'Evoker' guns. Is that because you have another way of summoning those 'Persona' things?" Please say yes. Summoning my Persona through conjuring a card wasn't exactly painless, but it was way better than shooting myself in the head.

"Actually, Narukami-kun, I don't have a Persona at all. I merely have some special training from the Kirijo group that allows me to stay conscious and aware during the Dark Hour." Well, that was disappointing.

A sharp clapping sound got my attention, and I looked over to see Mitsuru just having closed a cellular phone. "An ambulance is on its way for Arisoto-san. Akihiko, you're going too. You need to get those ribs looked at."

"I'm fine, Mitsuru!" he said, irritated. "It's not the first time I've dealt with a cracked rib." I winced. Sorry, Akihiko. If I hadn't gotten in the way, you probably would have gotten off scot-free. Surreptitiously, I stood up straighter to try and place less of my weight on his shoulders.

"That wasn't a suggestion, Sanada." Mitsuru stared at him with piercing red eyes, the same color as her hair.

"Keh! Fine."

She turned the gaze to me, and it softened a little bit. "As for you... Narukami, was it?"

I nodded, and pulled my arm away from Akihiko to stand on my own two feet. I felt a little wobbly, like I had just finished playing an entire game of basketball, but now that I was out the atmosphere of the Dark Hour I was finally beginning to catch my breath.

"If everything about your Persona is normal, you should feel better after some rest. If you like, we'll be happy to have you checked out at the hospital, but otherwise there are a number of empty rooms here that we could use to put you up for the night."

I reached into the inside of my coat and pulled out the manila folder. Unbending it, I handed it to her. "Actually, I think I was hoping you could put me up longer than that."

She pulled the flashlight back out and shined it on the contents. "Transfer paperwork...? I see." She passed the folder to Ikutsuki. "In addition to his other responsibilities, Ikutsuki-san happens to be the manager of our dormitory. He'll get you set up." In the distance, I began to hear the sound of distant sirens, and she sighed. "I apologize for the suddenness of everything that you've been put through, and I know that you must have questions. However, there are some responsibilities that I need to see to. I promise, everything will be explained to you tomorrow. For now, welcome to the Iwatodai dorm."

Well, I probably had fewer questions than she might think, but it would be nice to hear it all explained anyways. For now, though, it was all I could do to stumble downstairs and into an unclaimed room. I didn't even really care that the room was bare, and that the bed didn't have any sheets. As soon as my body hit horizontal, I was out cold.

* * *

><p>After a while, I began to feel the sensation of constantly moving upwards, a subtle shift in gravity pressing me down further, making my body feel heavy. Opening my eyes, I saw a room decked in velvet, with a subtle latticework around the edges allowing the light of the floors we were passing through to illuminate the room. Though the decor was unfamiliar, I knew instantly that I was in the Velvet Room - after all, the beautiful golden-eyed blonde sitting at a table was quite familiar to me.<p>

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Margaret said. "To tell you the truth, you are an unexpected guest, and I'm afraid that my master and sister are out preparing for the arrival of another." She looked slightly perplexed, and her confusion only deepened when I interrupted her.

"I can't have come just to see you?" I teased. Inside my chest, I could feel something growing, a feeling of resonance.

"I'm sorry? I- I don't believe I recognize you... you may have me at an advantage." Margaret stammered, blushing almost imperceptibly.

"It's good to see you, Margaret." I looked her in the eyes, and the persona-like entity that comprised the Orb of Sight sent a shock of something up my spine and through the space where our gazes met. She put her hand to her head for a few seconds and shut her eyes. When she opened them back up, she was smiling.

"Souji! What - how are you here? How are you... _now_?" Margaret's cool demeanor had shattered in an instant, and her face was as open as I remembered, warm and full of hidden life.

"Izanami." I said. Being in the Velvet Room was always a bit odd; it often felt like I had come without my body, and was permanently frozen in the same seat, but for some reason I was feeling it worse than usual. Maybe it was that the Velvet Room was configured for Arisato? "She said ... there was a thing that had happened in the past, where the darkness of humanity was sealed away or something, and it reminded me of the stories you told me of your sister. How she had found a reason to leave the Velvet Room."

"Elizabeth! And that boy..." she sat, looking pensive. "So you decided to let her send you back in time?"

I nodded. "It was that, or let my friends die... though there might have been a way to bring them back with Izanagi-no-Okami anyways. She was saying, though, that there was something influencing her, something that was behind what's happening now, and which would cause more disasters in the future. So, I agreed."

Margaret shook her head, bemused. "Only you, Souji-kun."

I felt a surge of warmth. "I'm glad to see you again. I was afraid that I wasn't going to see any of my friends again for years."

She looked at me fondly, but with a hint of trepidation in her eyes. "Your presence here is going to change things, Souji-kun. I'm glad to see you too, but I'm hoping that these changes will be for the better." As she spoke, I could see her slowly moving farther and farther away from me. "Oh!" she said. "It looks like you are still unused to the changes in the Velvet Room. Go back to sleep, Souji-kun. I'll be seeing you again soon."

* * *

><p>"Narukami-san?" I jerked to awareness, for a few seconds completely lost as to where I was and how I had gotten there. There was a knocking sound on the door, and I faintly heard a feminine voice mutter to itself. "... I could have sworn that this was the room that Ikutsuki-san said he went to." She waited a few seconds, and eventually I decided to try making a noise.<p>

"Uh." Not very articulate, true, but it was something resembling voluntary speech! Frankly, I thought I deserved a medal.

"Oh, good. Narukami-san, most of us are heading to school, but the President says that you're excused from that for the day." That's good, because if I did manage to get to school, I think that I just would have wound up sleeping at my desk. "Mitsuru-senpai said that some boxes have arrived for you, I guess they're your things? So you can take the day to unpack and get settled in - ah! Mitsuru-senpai said that she had gone ahead and assigned you the room under the one that you're in now, so that's taken care of. And tomorrow's Sunday, so you won't have to worry about school until the day after, so you're supposed to just go ahead and rest up."

"Ah. Thanks." I managed, blinking the sand out of my eyes. My whole body was clammy with sweat, and the clothes that I had worn last night were sticking to me in uncomfortable ways. It was a good thing that I was already a Fool, or else I probably would have caught a cold sleeping like that. After a second, I caught myself thinking that, and smacked myself across the face. No! No making terrible jokes! I'm going to have to put up with enough of that from that Ikutsuki guy, I don't need it from my subconscious, too!

"... How are you feeling?" She asked. I finally placed the voice - it was the girl in pink, the one called Yukari Takeba. I swiveled my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Thankfully, I was able to keep my feet without feeling unsteady.

"I've been worse." I answered. "I could probably stand to go back to sleep, but I think I'm going to rifle through those boxes downstairs and figure out which of them have my clean clothes and my toiletries."

She laughed, an almost musical sound that reminded me a little bit of Rise. "The men's showers are on the second floor, and there should be food in the kitchen on the first floor. I'll see you this afternoon - we're planning to all go and visit Akihiko-senpai and Arisoto-san at the hospital then."

"All right, see you then." I could hear her footsteps going down the hall and sighed. I hadn't been lying - I really did want to get some more sleep - but frankly, I felt disgusting. While my room didn't have a toilet attached, it did at least have a sink, and I used it to splash some cold water on my face. Looking in the mirror, I looked like hell... or maybe a younger version of Uncle Dojima after a long day at the office, with bags under my eyes and even the faintest hint of stubble on my cheeks.

As I left the room, I noted the number, then headed downstairs. As Yukari had mentioned, there was a sizable pile of cardboard boxes waiting in the lobby. My eye twitched. When I had collapsed for the night, I had picked the room closest to the roof access... which meant that I was now permanently assigned to the room under it, farthest from the front door ?! Damn you, Izanami! ... Wait, actually, that wasn't really something I could blame on her. Damn you, Kirijo!

It took far too many trips up and down the stairs, but I eventually got everything into my room. As I unpacked, I didn't know whether to feel impressed, or creeped out. On the one hand, 'my' stuff was all of excellent quality. Shoes, shirts, pants... all new or close to it, of recognizable brand names, and in good condition. On the other hand, there was absolutely nothing personal in it. No family photos, no artwork or small figurines, no old ratty shirts that I had kept around for sentimental reasons or to do chores in. Not one object in the boxes reflected my past in any way... yet they all fit me to a T. I pictured Izanami's thousands of grasping corpse-hands roaming across my body to take my measurements, and shuddered.

The toiletries were similarly new and unused, but at least the brands of soap and shampoo were what I was used to from the showers back home.

Actually, that was a bit creepy too. Whatever, it was time to finally get last night's sweat off.

By the time that I finished my shower, my stomach had decided to remind me that I hadn't eaten anything since almost three years into the future, and I decided to make the kitchen the next stop on my itinerary. Honestly, there wasn't much available, so I decided to wander outside and see if there were any convenience stores nearby where I could grab a bento. As it turned out, the Iwatodai dorm was only one of several dorms in the area; not a huge surprise, as it was very close to the train station nearest to Gekkoukan High. There was a convenience store right down the street, and I picked up a large bento. It was nothing compared to the food at Aiya's, but as hungry as I was, it hit the spot.

Actually, Aiya did say she would deliver food anywhere...

No, better not.

I grabbed a can of coffee from a vending machine and made my way back to the Iwatodai dorm, eventually settling down in the lounge to wait for everyone else to return. Before I turned on the TV, I experimentally tapped on the surface. Nope, no Midnight Channel, just plain hard glass. I didn't know whether or not to be relieved. On the one hand, it meant that I had no chance of finding Teddie anytime soon, or of getting back to where the Personas that I was used to might work. On the other hand, it meant that I wouldn't be put into the position of fighting Shadows during the Dark Hour at night, then turning around and trying to rescue people from the television during the day.

It had been a while since I watched TV during the day, but out of habit from spending time with Nanako and Uncle Dojima I switched the channel to the news. The major special was on Apathy Syndrome, a mysterious illness that had spread across the world but seemed particularly strong in Japan. Supposedly a number of sufferers had woken up this morning vastly improved.

Hmm. That wasn't suspicious at all.

I kept watching, taking mental notes. Apparently the first cases of Apathy Syndrome began ten years ago, with a noted increase in the last year and an especially large one last month, though the talking heads on the television were going back and forth over whether it was a general trend, or a statistical anomaly. Eventually the television cut to commercial, and I froze. _Everyday's great at your Junes!_ Listening to the jingle, I could almost see Nanako-chan sitting in front of me by the television, and for a second I felt very lonely.

Then from the front hall, I heard the sound of people opening the door. "We're home!" It didn't have the same ring as Uncle Dojima's exhausted voice coming in the door, but it was still a welcome distraction.

I scrubbed my face briefly with my sleeve (funny how your eyes water when you watch television in bad light) and walked out into the foyer. Mitsuru and Yukari were there in their school uniforms; which, now that I thought of it, seemed to be more or less identical to what they had been wearing last night. And here I thought that my friends and I were the only ones who fought monsters in their high school uniforms. It was interesting to note that both of them had modified the base uniform slightly - Takeba, with her pink sweater and a white choker that I hadn't really noticed last night, and Kirijo, with the completely different blouse and the thigh-high heeled boots. It boded well for me being able to modify my own uniform if I didn't like the look. Belatedly, I realized that it might look like I was staring, and walked further towards them.

"Welcome back," I greeted them.

"Are you feeling better, Narukami-san?" Yukari asked. She was smiling at me politely, but probably without the sort of nervousness that would imply a hidden crush. Well, you can't win them all.

"I'm still a little tired, but my headache is gone." I replied honestly.

"That's good to hear." Mitsuru took a step towards me and and looked at me directly. "Narukami, are you interested in coming with us to the hospital? Akihiko is due to be released this afternoon."

I nodded. She looked at me for a second, and belatedly I realized that she was probably expecting me to say something out loud, so I eventually added "... that's good to hear." It was sort of a habit of mine, saying things internally or through actions rather than voicing them. My year at Inaba had changed that slightly, but I was still what most people would call a quiet person.

Mitsuru didn't quite smile, but her severe expression became a little warmer. "I know you must be anxious to hear an explanation of last night. By the time we return with Akihiko, the Chairman should be finished with his duties and ready to give you the full story."

I shrugged. Inwardly, I felt like I already had a pretty good idea on what was going on, but... "Just answer me one thing. Does the Dark Hour have anything to do with Apathy Syndrome?"

She blinked, clearly surprised. "You're quite astute, Narukami-san."

I jerked a thumb over towards the television. "A bunch of people with the Syndrome just went into remission right after we killed something supernatural. Not too hard to figure out."

"Eh? They did?" Yukari asked, clutching one hand to her chest in surprise. "Then... if you look at it a certain way, didn't Arisato-kun just save all those people?" Yep. Clearly some hero worship, there. Well, good for Arisato.

I shrugged again in response. If things here were anything like Inaba, Shadows were born in the dark places in peoples' hearts. It was even odds as to whether killing the big shadow had interrupted its feeding on people, or just scattered its pieces back to the hearts it had come from, to later be reborn as Shadows if their life situations didn't resolve themselves... but that was still just conjecture at this point.

"In any case. If you're ready to leave, Narukami-san, there is a car outside waiting for us." I looked at Mitsuru and nodded, then put my shoes on.

"Ready when you are."

* * *

><p>It was somewhat of a quiet car ride to the hospital. I was busy looking out the windows at the city, Yukari seemed privately lost in thought, and Mitsuru was apparently content to just sit quietly. When we finally made it to the hospital, I had to suppress a shiver. The last time that I had been in a hospital was with Nanako-chan... it brought back bad memories. Thankfully, Akihiko's room was clean and bright, far from the ghosts of the past. When we opened the door, he was already out of the hospital gown and back into normal clothes, though some medical tape peeked out of the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. "Hey there everyone. Am I glad to see you! I'm fit as a fiddle and ready to get out of here."<p>

"I'd hardly call you fit as a fiddle, Akihiko. Two of your ribs are cracked, and you have some heavy bruising." Mitsuru frowned at him, and he winced.

"It's nothing, really. The doctors told me that I'd be recovered in a week - and that's without the benefit of Dia spells! I've done worse to myself in training before."

"And I should take this as an argument in your favor why?" Mitsuru asked. The face Akihiko made as he acknowledged the hit was pretty funny.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Akihiko-san." I said, and his face lit up as he met my eyes.

"Yu! You too, man. You were looking pretty rough by the end of last night." He frowned. "The doctors say Arisato-san still hasn't woken up. I admit, I was a little worried that you might have been doing the same way."

I scoffed. "It'll take more than shooting myself in the head to keep me down."

"So Arisato-san still hasn't woken up, huh..." Yukari said quietly. There was an awkward silence for a moment, until Mitsuru spoke up.

"Why don't you go visit his room for a little while, Takeba-san? I'm sure he'd like the company."

Yukari looked between all of us in the room, seemed to think of saying something, then just bowed to Akihiko and left. After the door slid closed, I looked at Akihiko. He looked back at me. Both of us looked at Mitsuru. After a long few seconds, all three of us snickered. Though the two of them were clearly used to working with each other and had known each other for a while, there was something about them that made me feel comfortable around them, an easy camaraderie that was born out of having fought at someone's side.

After a little bit of small talk, the doctors came in and cleared Akihiko to leave. After that, we decided to sit and wait with Yukari for a little while, making light conversation while we waited for Arisato to wake up.

Had I known that it was going to be another full week before he came to, I would have brought a book.


End file.
